Legislature Considers San Juan Stamp to Generate Habitat Improvement Funds

A new user fee for anglers who fish the San Juan River’s trophy, trout waters overcame its first hurdle in the Legislature this week with passage of House Bill 51 by the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee.

Under the proposed law a new habitat stamp would be added to state fishing licenses for those who wish to fish the San Juan River’s quality waters.

 

State residents would be charged an extra $5 a year on top of the usual cost of an annual fishing license while out-of-state anglers who want to the fish the state’s top trout fishery would have to pay an extra $10.

The stamp requirement would expire after ten years under a sunset provision and is estimated to generate between $225,000 to 325,000 a year.

Money generated from the extra stamp charge would be earmarked exclusively for habitat improvement projects on the San Juan River’s quality waters, where some say the fishing quality has declined in recent years.

The stamp idea grew out of stakeholder meetings last year to address issues regarding the fabled, blue ribbon trout stream including complaints about the degradation of fish habitat due to silt and sediment accumulation brought on by federally mandated, lower water releases from the dam at Navajo Lake.

The legislation comes on the heels of the loss of $250,000 in state capital outlay funds appropriated for habitat improvements on the river last year and supporters of the bill say it’s only appropriate for users of the river to now shoulder the burden for the improvements.

“We support it, there’s just no other way in this economic climate,” says Rudy Rios, president of New Mexico Trout. ” It’s a small price to pay for the quality they’re (anglers) getting.”

One priority project on the books that has been waiting on funding is diversion of a wash that drains directly into the top end of the river and is a major contributor of silt and sediment to the river at highly popular Texas Hole.

Other projects under consideration include increasing access and improving fish habitat in other sections of the river to reduce overcrowding and pressure on the more popular areas, says State Game Commission Chairman Jim McClintic.

“We want to make this one of the finest fisheries in the U.S.A.,” McClintic told members of the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee during their hearing of the bill at the state capitol on Thursday (Jan 28).

Angling on the San Juan River contributes anywhere from $20 million to $40 million to the state’s economy each year, according to the state Department of Game and Fish.

McClintic said in an interview prior to the committee meeting that he saw no other way to raise the funds needed for those improvements that anglers wanted.

“The people who use it should have to pay for it,” he said.

Greg McReynolds of Trout Unlimited complained that the extra charge to anglers would make it harder to raise fees in the future to support other initiatives like native trout restoration. He also argued for a shorter sunset provision of three years and asked that there be more public involvement and a clearer plan of action before proceeding.

“We may support this bill later,” he told the committee.

Larry Johnson of the San Juan River Guides Association and owner of Soaring Eagle Lodge says the stamp idea enjoys broad support among fishing guides, fly shops, and other business owners on the San Juan River at Navajo Dam.

“My clients tell me another $10 isn’t going to kill them especially after all the money they spent to come fish here in the first place,” Johnson says.

About 70 percent of those fishing the river come from out of state, according to state Department of Game and Fish statistics.

The bill enjoys the support of Governor Bill Richardson, according to his spokesperson, Alarie Ray-Garcia, because it provides targeted funding, is paid for by the anglers who fish the river, it allows the Department of Game & Fish to address recent concerns regarding fish habitat, angler access, and siltation and also allows the department to conduct habitat and fishery studies.

House Bill 51, sponsored by House Minority Leader Tom Taylor, R-San Juan, is slated to go next before the House Energy Minerals and Natural Resources Committee.

This article appeared also appeared in the Santa Fe New Mexican .

Cerrillos Hills State's Newest park

The coyotes started howling just as we crested the hill on this warm, sunny afternoon at the new Cerrillos Hills State Park south of Santa Fe.

But it was the panoramic views that captured our attention as the pack yipped and howled in what sounded like the next draw over.

Views that stretched for miles taking in snow capped mountain ranges, flat topped mesas and rolling pinon and juniper studded hills.

Here the ground was warm and dry, the trails clear and well maintained and the silence deafening.

“It’s one of the best things about this place,” says Sarah Wood, manager of the state’s newest park. “We’ve got five miles of good trails, great winter hiking and incredible views.”

Located just outside the historic mining town of Cerrillos, just 25 miles south of Santa Fe off State Rd. 14, management of the park was assumed from Santa Fe County by the State Parks Division of the state Energy, Mineral’s and Natural Resources Department in August.

Many of the state’s 36 state parks administer public lands for other agencies and generate much of their operating funds through user fees.

Much of Cerrillos Hills State Park’s existing trails, interpretive signs, a restroom and other features were already in place due primarily to the volunteer efforts of  the Cerrillos Hill’s Park Coalition along with assistance from the county and has been open to the public since 2003.

Granted some $1.4 million in legislative appropriations in recent years, State Parks acquired a .67 of an acre parcel of land in downtown Cerrillos for $672,000 upon which to construct a community and visitor center, according to Marti Niman, State Park’s spokesperson.

But plans for the community and visitor center have since ground to a halt after Governor Bill Richardson ordered a freeze on all capital outlay projects while he and the state legislature work on a fix for the state’s $650 million budget shortfall.

State Parks was however, able to renovate a house on the land for use as an office which sits just down the street from a historic landmark at the entrance to town, Mary’s Bar.

During a recent visit Wood said she hoped the park would draw more visitors to the old mining town and boost economic development for the rural area.

“We already get quite a few visitors,” she says “But we’re seeing even more mountain bikers, hikers and horseback riders as the word gets out.”

Wood noted that she spends a lot of time now notifying visitors that a $5 day use fee is required to utilize the park. It had been free to use before. A yearly pass can be for $40 at the office or by mail.

The park has recently played host to astronomy events, nature tours and other events to draw visitors and will conduct even more activities in the future, Wood said.

Wood, 47, of Los Alamos, has been with State Parks for eight years. She holds a Masters Degree in Biology from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces and a Bachelors Degree in Biology from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

Wood formerly held the position of Northwest and Northeast Regional Educational Coordinator for State Parks where she oversaw educational and interpretive programs including star parties, wildlife tracking, plant and fauna identification and history programs for school groups and the public.

This is her first posting as a State Park Manager and is excited about the opportunity and possibilities considering the area’s natural and historical attractions and its proximity to a major tourism destination such as Santa Fe.

Less than a half hour away from Santa Fe, the park not only provides visitors with wide open spaces to enjoy but also a glimpse back in time of an era long ago.

Along many of the trails visitors will find numerous sealed mines, most with interpretive signs providing information about the region during its boom town days.

Cerrillos once was a town bustling with hotels, saloons and other businesses to support those who mined the hills during the 1800s for gold, silver, turquoise, zinc and  lead.

But today one finds mostly dusty streets, old boarded up store fronts and plenty of dogs roaming about the once busy town.

However, upon closer inspection visitors to Cerrillos will find some diehard businesses remain including the fun and informative, Casa Grande Petting Zoo and Turquoise Mining Museum, an intriquing What Not Shop and Mary’s Bar, a classic New Mexico drinking establishment.

The town also boasts a wonderful old church, some galleries and plenty of Old West atmosphere, the likes of which drew movie makers to the rural community to make films such as “Young Guns,”one and two.

All worth visiting while taking in the new state park’s great outdoor recreational opportunities which also includes a horseback riding concession, Broken Saddle Riding Co, that’ll take riders into the park and surrounding public lands.

It should be noted that Cerrillos lacks a restaurant but food and drink can be had in the funky little town of Madrid located just three miles down the road from Cerrillos, where one can eat, drink and shop.

This article also appeared in the Santa Fe New Mexican.

If You Go:

Those traveling out to Cerrillos Hills Park can make a roundtrip adventure of it by taking I-25 south to exit 267 located at the top of La Bajada Hill, just past the rest area.

Go under the highway and then head straight for the mountains on Santa Fe County Road (SFCR) 57, also known as Waldo Canyon Road.

This paved road turns to dirt after about a mile and one might see the Roadrunner train along the way. About six miles later one comes upon the old railroad siding of Waldo where the ruins of massive coke furnaces can be seen by the railroad tracks. The stop features the shade of several aging cottonwood trees and ruins of old buildings. Amtrak and freight trains still operate on these tracks, trespassing is prohibited and caution is advised.

The road then cuts through a narrow, twisty gorge and eventually comes out at Cerrillos where one takes a left onto SFCR 59, which leads up past the village cemetery to the Cerrillos Hills State Park kiosk. The office is located in downtown Cerrillos on Main Street.

Upon leaving town, visitors can head back to Santa Fe through Cerrillos on State Road 14 and take SFCR 45, also known as Bonanza Creek Road, just outside of Lone Butte, for a scenic side trip into the foothills and past the Bonanza Creek movie ranch where from the road visitors can sometimes see movie sets. Stay on SFCR 45 to the frontage road at I-25 and follow it north back to State Road 14 and on into Santa Fe.

Dates Change, Plan Stays the Same, San Juan River and Navajo Lake to Close

Despite a change of state employee furlough dates Navajo Lake and the quality waters of the San Juan River will still be closed for five days in the next four months beginning with a shut down on Thursday, Christmas Eve Day and again on Friday, Jan. 15, 2010.

Three other days furlough dates have since been changed to allow the parks to close on several Tuesdays in February and March while all other state employees will continue to be furloughed over several Fridays in March, April and May.

The changes were made to allow parks across the state to remain open during busy weekends and holidays.

Yet perhaps nowhere will the impact of the closures be felt more, regardless of the dates,than in the small community of Navajo Dam where virtually every business in town is dependant upon Navajo Lake state park for their livelihood.

The park and its year-round, trophy-class trout fishery draws anglers from all over the world and contributes an estimated $30 million to the state’s economy annually.

But many businesses including fishing guides, fly shops, hotels and restaurants are also being forced to take Christmas Eve day off along with the state’s employees because of the state’s furlough plan.

The park and 34 others across the state will be closed a total of five days in the next four months and any day the river and the lake at Navajo Dam are closed essentially puts locals out of business.

“It’s just plain stupid,” says Chuck Rizuto, one of the longest serving guides on the river and owner of a lodge, fly shop and guide service. “They haven’t even bothered to think about what this will do to our tourism.”

What Rizuto finds particularly galling is the fact that the park will have a skeleton crew on duty on Thursday to keep people out.

And then the following morning on Christmas Day they’ll have another skeleton crew come back in to open the park gates again.

“It just doesn’t make sense,” he says. “Why not just leave it open if they're going to have to these guys down there anyhow.”

And that’s the problem many who work on the San Juan River are having with the state’s furlough plan.

“This is ridiculous,” says Larry Johnson of the San Juan River Guides Association. “If anybody in private business ran things this way they’d go broke.”

Johnson, in a letter to state parks director, Dave Simon, said he understood the state’s need to reduce costs in the face of budget shortfalls.

But Johnson argued that the closing of the state park which includes Navajo Lake and the quality waters of the San Juan River will not only cost the state much needed revenue from lost user’s fees, but also harm local businesses dependent upon park visitors for income.

“I don’t understand why they can’t just keep the park open with a skeleton crew instead of closing it for an entire day,” Johnson said.

That’s exactly what they’re doing in Colorado where state employee furloughs have also been ordered to cut costs due to budget shortfalls.

“Our state parks are a part of everyday life for many people here,” said Deb Frazier, spokeswoman for Colorado State Parks. “And it seemed to us that the best solution was to keep them open with skeleton crews on duty.”

And that’s exactly what Johnson and others on the San Juan River have been lobbying New Mexico’s State Parks to do.

“I’m aware of and share the concerns of the guides and businesses on the San Juan,” Dave Simon, Director of State Parks says. “I sympathize with them but that (skeleton crews) wasn’t an option that was made available to us.”

Simon says after Governor Bill Richardson issued his executive order calling for the
furlough days, his parent agency immediately sought a way to keep the parks open.

Simon says he never spoke directly to Richardson about the furlough plan but that his boss, Secretary of Energy Minerals and Natural Resources, Joanna Prukop, argued his agency’s case for keeping the parks open.

Prukop was unavailable for comment and is slated to retire Dec. 31st.

Simon says his understanding of the situation was that Governor Richardson wanted to reduce the “complexity” of the furlough plan, which is why the state parks weren't allowed to use skeleton crews to keep them open.

Simon says his understanding of the furlough plan was it was designed to maximize savings by having as many state employees off, and their offices closed, on the furlough days.

The plan is estimated to save the state about $11 million while the overall budget shortfall is pegged somewhere at about $650 million.

The governor’s spokesman, Gilbert Gallegos, said the governor’s furlough plan was devised to limit exceptions to the rules but he praised Richardson’s willingness to allow the state parks to close on alternate days to reduce the impact of the shut down.

There were to be few if any exceptions to the plan except for situations impacting the public’s health, safety and welfare, Gallegos Said.

Gallegos declined to address questions regarding why staggered schedules couldn't be employed to allow the state parks to remain open with skeleton crews in place.

"I don’t have anything more to add, except this: Had Governor Richardson signed the budget proposal passed by the Legislature during the special session, the state would have had to close state parks, which would have had a truly devastating impact on local economies," Gallegos wrote in response to questions submitted by Outdoors New Mexico .

The governor's original furlough plan called for most of the closings to fall on Fridays before other holidays thus creating four day weekends for furloughed state employees.

But the original plan came at a great inconvenience to the public.

For instance, a park such as Elephant Butte Lake State Park, which sees upwards of 100,000 visitors over the Memorial Day weekend would have been closed to early birds who showed up on Friday to find a camp site.

Gallegos said Richardson showed “great flexibility” in allowing state parks to change their closure dates to allow the parks to close on Tuesdays in February and March instead, while the rest of the state employees had to adhere to the other schedule.

State parks will be closed Thursday, December 24, 2009, Friday, January 15, 2010, Tuesday, February 9, 2010, Tuesday, March 2, 2010, and Tuesday, March 23, 2010.

All other state offices will be closed Thursday, December 24, 2009, Friday, January 15, 2010, Friday, March 5, 2010, Friday, April 2, 2010, and Friday, May 28, 2010.
(for more info see press release).

But some businessmen at Navajo Dam find the alternate schedule of little consolation considering that any day the river and lake is closed they’re essentially out of business.

“I book some of my biggest trips in March, during the week,” says Rizuto. “That’s when most out-of-state tourists want to come, to avoid the weekend crowds. What am I supposed to tell them, the river’s closed for a day?”

Many Navajo Dam Businesses were equally upset that much of the planning for the closures was kept under wraps and done without public involvement (see related story ).

Sen. Steve Scharer, R-San Juan says the state parks and businesses at Navajo Dam are simply pawns in the governor’s ongoing battle with the legislature over the budget.

“This just another case of his total disregard for the citizens,” he said. “He doesn’t care about them. It’s all about him.”

Scharer said that by closing revenue generating state parks and doing the same to related businesses is counterproductive to the state’s economy and senseless considering the minimal budget savings it produces.

The furloughs are another in a series of moves crafted by Richardson to address the budget shortfall including a state hiring freeze, layoffs of political appointees and suspension of all capital outlay spending including his own $250,000 allocation for habitat improvement projects on the San Juan River at Navajo Dam.

That money was earmarked for a diversion at Rex Smith Wash at Texas Hole to keep silt and sediment from washing into the river and destroying fish habitat.

The Governor's furlough plan comes on the heels of his veto of a legislative budget fix offered during a special session last fall including a 7.6-percent across the board budget cut and a reduction of politically appointed positions within state government.

In the meantime state park rangers will be on duty during the state park closure dates to keep trespassers out and will issue citations if necessary, Simon says.

Anyone convicted of criminal trespass while hunting or fishing could see their fishing privileges administratively revoked for up to three years.

Governor Bill Richardson issued the following press release on Feb. 5, 2010

Governor Bill Richardson Announces State Parks Will  Remain Open During Furloughs

SANTA FE- Governor Richardson today announced that all New Mexico State Parks will
remain open during the remainder of state employee furlough days. Governor Richardson
announced the change after receiving dozens of requests from New Mexico residents, local
municipalities and businesses asking to keep parks open because of concerns about the negative
economic impact closures could have on local economies.

“New Mexico State Parks offer fabulous scenery, a variety of family-friendly activities and are
great tourist magnets that drive economic development in our local communities,” Governor
Richardson said. “This plan will not only enable the state to continue saving money but will keep
our parks open for everyone to enjoy.”

Listening to constituent concerns, Governor Richardson worked with State Parks and the State
Personnel Office to come up with the plan that will still require State Park employees to take
three remaining furlough days. Those employees who are needed to work to keep parks open on
designated furlough days, will be required to take alternate furlough days.
                                                                        ##

San Juan Lock Down - River, Lake to be Closed by Furloughs

Anglers headed up to Navajo Lake State Park for a little fishing the day before Christmas might be surprised to find the river and lake closed to the public due to state employee furloughs imposed by Governor Bill Richardson.

“This is ridiculous,” says Larry Johnson of the San Juan River Guides Association and owner of the Soaring Eagle Lodge.

Johnson argued that closing of the state park which includes Navajo Lake and the quality waters of the San Juan River at Navajo Dam will not only cost the state much needed revenue from user’s fees but also harm local businesses dependent upon park visitors for income.

“I don’t understand why they couldn’t just keep the park open with a skeleton crew instead of closing it for an entire day,” Johnson said in a telephone interview.

Ironically that’s what Navajo State Park employees will be doing the following day when they open the gates back up again on Christmas morning.

The river and lake is also slated to be closed to anglers on Jan. 15, the Friday before Martin Luther King, under the governor's furlough plan.

Johnson said he first heard about the closings from the local state park employees who had been informing local fishing guides and other businesses in the area about the impending closings.

Outdoors New Mexico had heard the same rumors and had been attempting to confirm the reported closings last week but was stymied by a wall of silence from the governor’s appointed public information officers and state agency directors.

Simon, the governor’s state parks director, declined to respond to calls for details about the reported closings and his response to emails was to refer all questions to the governors’ office.

The Governor’s primary spokesman, Deputy Chief of Staff Chris Gallegos, initially dismissed questions about the reported state park closings.

“We have not yet finalized the furlough plan that will be presented to the State Personnel Board which means it is premature to speculate on the impact to state parks or any state services,” Gallegos wrote in a Dec 2, 2009 response to our inquiry.

But by Monday Dec. 7 Gallegos was issuing a press release stating that State Parks would be given a reprieve to allow staggered furlough dates so the state’s 34 parks could remain open during “popular holiday weekends in the spring.”

The press release notes that the furlough plan is still subject to approval by the State Personnel Board.

The board, all governor appointees, is slated to meet Dec. 16, 2009, in Albuquerque at the National Hispanic Center at 1701 Fourth St. SW at 8:30 a.m. to consider the furlough plan, said Sheila Zamora, Board Administrator for the State Personnel Board.

The meeting is open to the public and anyone who wishes to comment on the furlough policy could send emails addressed to the board through her at sheila.zamora@state.nm.us.

The Director of the State Personnel Board, Sandra Perez, also a Richardson appointee, declined to return calls and email messages seeking further specifics about the board’s policy making process.

The governor’s latest furlough plan includes not only the day before Christmas but four other dates in the upcoming year including Jan. 15, March 5, April 2 and May 28.

Two of those dates fall in line with other holidays which effectively create four day weekends for furloughed state employees.

One of those dates is in conjunction with Memorial Day weekend and Johnson had questioned the logic in closing a state park such as Navajo Lake State Park the day before the beginning of one of the summer’s busiest outdoor recreational weekends.

“Imagine showing up to claim a campsite the night before and finding the gates locked,” he said. “It’s crazy.”

Such a closure at Elephant Butte State Park in southern New Mexico which routinely sees upwards of 100,000 visitors on Memorial Day weekend would have wreaked havoc, Johnson noted.

Apparently state parks administrators thought so too, and were successful in sparing themselves such a scenario but not before unchecked rumors and misinformation had already been spread.

Now anglers hoping to get a jump on the yuletide holiday by visiting the San Juan on Christmas Eve are officially out of luck.

Marti Niman, Public Information Officer for State Parks, finally confirmed on Monday that park gates to day use areas on the river at Navajo Dam would be closed on Christmas Eve day but she couldn’t say whether anglers slipping past the locked entrances, some just installed, would be treated as trespassers.

Niman said she hoped to have an official press release regarding the Christmas Eve day closure and others out sometime this week.

The river and lake will also be closed an off limits to anglers on Jan. 15, the Friday before Martin Luther King, under the furlough plan.

Initial reports from state park employees about the closing on Navajo Lake State Park suggested that security guards would be hired to patrol the lake and the river to keep trespassers out because park rangers would have the day off.

All of which drew scoffs from some like Johnson who questioned the logic behind the state’s plan in a Dec. 4, 2009 guide association letter to Simon.

“Does the costs savings of furloughed onsite employees outweigh the loss of revenue, hiring of security officers to prohibit the public’s access to the parks, and the costs of constructing new physical barriers at multiple park access points? ” Johnson asked.

Simon had yet to reply to the guide association’s letter by the time the governor’s office issued its latest press release.

Yet despite the park’s closing, fly shop owner, Ray Johnston of Float and Fish in Navajo Dam, says he will still be open Christmas Eve day.

“That’s my customer appreciation day,” Johnston says.” Been doing it for years.”

The shop will be open as usual and will be serving up free red chile stew, pinto beans and tortillas for customers.

“We usually get a pretty good crowd,” he says. “People come from all over to fish the river during the holidays you know. That’s why I just don’t understand what they (state parks ) were thinking.”

Johnston said he'd have to cancel some fishing trips he had scheduled for Christmas Eve day and will have to do the same for upcoming furlough dates too.

The world class San Juan River brings in thousands of fly fishing fanatics each year to chase big trout on small flies and contributes upwards of $30 to 40 million to the state's economy.

And while news of the state park closure might keep some anglers away, others might see this as an exciting opportunity to sneak down to the river and have the place all to themselves for a change.

In the meantime, Richardson’s battle with the state legislature over a projected budget shortfall of about $650 million continues.

Richardson called the state legislature in special session recently where lawmakers crafted bills calling for 7.6 percent across-the-board cuts to all state agencies and a reduction in the number of Richardson’s politically appointed positions.

Richardson declined to sign the laws and instead offered up his own executive remedies including the furloughs which are expected to produce about $11 million dollars in savings.

Richardson is also laying off 59 state employees holding politically appointed positions, has left another 49 politically appointed positions vacant and had already imposed a freeze on all state government hiring.

This comes on the heels of reports that state government has grown a reported 50 percent during Richardson’s two terms.

Richardson has also ordered a freeze on all legislators’ capital outlay projects not already underway including his own $250,000 allocation for habitat improvement projects on the San Juan River.

That money had been earmarked for use in diverting runoff from Rex Smith wash at Texas Hole, a primary source of silt and sediment coming into the river which many blame for a perceived decline in the fishery’s quality.

Oryx Hunt on Ted Turner's New Mexico Ranch Special Event for a Lady

Photo Courtesy of Diane Gilmore

It wasn’t the kind of story you might expect to hear upon walking into a biker bar like Silva’s in downtown Bernalillo, New Mexico on a Saturday afternoon.

The lady behind the horseshoe shaped bar was running about, talking excitedly and offering up samples of the oryx she’d bagged just a day or two earlier.

On Ted Turner’s Armendaris Ranch in southern New Mexico of all places, she said.

Turner is the largest private land owner in the country and has several big ranches here in New Mexico including the Armendaris, the Ladder and Vermejo Park bordering the spectacular Valle Vidal in northern New Mexico.

And hunting or fishing on one of them would normally be way out of reach for most people, I thought.

But for Diane Gilmore, 54, of Albuquerque, a night of bartending at a National Wild Turkey Federation banquet last winter led her to the remote Turner ranch and a way of life she’d missed for many years.

See, Gilmore, a laid-off computer technician who moonlights as a bartender, used to hunt and fish all the time with her husband of ten years, Vern.

Many times they went fishing with Felix Silva Sr., proprietor of the fabled watering hole in downtown Bernalillo where Gilmore tends bar.

Photo Courtesy of Diane Gilmore

But she lost her passion for the hunting and fishing life after her husband was killed by a wrong-way driver on a highway in Texas during a cross-country motorcycle the pair were taking in 1995.

Gilmore labored on through the years without her partner and best friend until one day her girlfriend, Ann Salmon, invited her out to attend a National Wild Turkey Federation banquet.

Salmon’s boyfriend, Mike Jasper, is the organization’s regional field supervisor and he invited Gilmore back to tend bar at a state leadership conference banquet last January.

“Going to the banquets, I got the itch to hunt again,” Gilmore said.

And that’s where she came across the opportunity to hunt for an oryx, an African native that was brought to New Mexico in the 1970s to develop a herd on White Sands Missile Range for hunting purposes.

The big antelope have done well here due in part to the lack of any natural predators to keep their numbers down, thus hunting is one of the only ways to effectively manage them.

Hunters can apply through the state Department of Game and Fish for a reasonably priced, once in a lifetime license to bag one of the big animals on White Sands Missile Range or they can try their luck at drawing an unrestricted, off range license to hunt oryx on public lands surrounding the range.

And then there’s private land hunting permits issued by the Department to landowners for use on their own property.

Typically those permits are available through outfitters who offer guided hunts to the public for premium price.

Which brings us back to Gilmore who while serving drinks at the National Wild Turkey Federation banquet noticed a bucket full of a dozen custom knives up for auction.

Attached to each knife was a raffle ticket for a guided oryx hunt on the Armenderis Ranch, normally a $3,000 proposition.

“I got all excited thinking about the chance to go after one of those majestic animals,” she recalls.

So Gilmore picked out three knives, plunked down $330 and waited for the drawing.

“I screamed like a maniac,” the New Jersey native says of the moment they called her number. ”It was surreal, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest.”

Gilmore had won and arranged to go on her hunt the following fall.

As the date of the hunt got closer, Gilmore grew more nervous.

“You know how it is,” she said.

Gilmore borrowed Jasper’s .300 WSM rifle and went out to the city’s range for a little practice and found her aim was still true.

And then the day of the hunt finally arrived.

Gilmore had stayed at a friend’s house at Elephant Butte the night before and awoke early to make the drive over to Engle and where the gate to the big ranch stood.

Accompanied by Jasper and Salmon, Gilmore met up with her guide, Amado Hernandez, who gave her an orientation, took her to ranch firing range to check her shooting skills and then they went for a drive.

The group searched the sprawling ranch for several hours before they finally spied a herd far off in the distance.

Upon driving around the base of a small hill to get a closer look they suddenly came across a lone oryx observing them from about 215 yards away.Photo courtesy of Turner Enterprises Inc.

Gilmore got down to see if she could get a shot at her but watched in dismay as she began to walk away.

Guide Hernandez gave a shrill whistle and the animal stopped to look back.

Gilmore took her shot and dropped the big antelope on the spot.

“My friends were yelling `she’s down’ and I was all excited,” Gilmore says with emotion. “This was my first hunt in twelve years and I was smiling so much my cheeks hurt.”

Gilmore says the best part of the hunt had to be after the kill because in all her years of hunting with Vern she knew the real work came in harvesting the animal.

“Amado did all the work,” she says. “That was special,”

Hernandez says he guides about 50 or 60 oryx hunts on the 360,000 acre ranch east of Truth or Consequences every year and remembers Gilmore because she was so ecstatic about her hunt.

“She was pretty thrilled,” he says. “And she did a good job too.”

Gilmore says she’s got a freezer full of good, lean organic meat processed by Gordon Mishler of Mishler Meat Cutting in Williamsburg and has a beautiful trophy mount for her wall on its way from Ken Watkins of High Sierra Taxidermy in Truth or Consequences.

But for Gilmore the best part of the hunt was that it rekindled in her that long dormant passion for the sport.

Jasper says that’s exactly what the National Wild Turkey Federation is striving to do, conserve wildlife and preserve the heritage of hunting.

And making exciting trips like this available is one way to do it, Jasper says.

“To let an average, everyday, person have a shot at a trophy hunt like this is priceless,” Jasper says.

Jasper says banquet auctions like the one Gilmore participated in have allowed numerous men and women around the state to go on such hunts while also raising much needed funds for the organizations’ mission.

And it couldn’t be done without the generous contributions and donations of people like Ted Turner whose ranches not only provide the habitat for many game species but the opportunity to hunt for them too, Jasper says.